Despite the fact that sleeping is a huge part of everyone’s everyday life, there are a few surprising things you might not know about getting some shuteye….

Women need more sleep than men…

Because their brains are more complex! Professor Jim Horne at Loughborough University in England says “For women, poor sleep is strongly associated with high levels of psychological distress and greater feelings of hostility, depression, and anger,” and “These feelings were not associated with the same degree of sleep disruption in men.” Due to the amount of multi-tasking that women tend to do, female brains need more time during sleep to recover.

Certain plants can help you sleep better

Having aloe vera, lavender, English ivy, jasmine plants or snake plants in your bedroom may help you sleep better as they improve the quality of the air in your room. English ivy can be particularly beneficial for those with athsma. Both lavender and jasmine can help reduce anxiety and snake plants are great for filtering toxins out of the air, thanks to the amount of oxygen they emit.

Boiled bananas can be more powerful than sleeping tablets

If you have trouble getting to sleep, try some banana tea, by boiling bananas in some water with a dash of cinnamon and drinking the liquid. Bananas contain potassium and magnesium which together can help relax your muscles and make it much easier for you to fall asleep.

4. If you sleep in a cold room you’ll live longer

Recent scientific evidence shows that sleeping in a cold room may have benefits for your help. Not only do you burn more fat by raising your metabolism in colder temperatures, but sleeping in a cold room has also show to reduce symptoms of sleep apnea and fibromyalgia.

Sleeping on your front is better for digestion

For the best results, your hands should be placed above your head. Sleeping on your right side can also help with heartburn.

People who earn more money, sleep better

A report by the Sleep Council revealed that those who earn £65,000 – £75,000 per year, tend to get a better night’s sleep.

50% of your dream is forgotten when you wake up

After five minutes of waking up, half of your dream is forgotten and ten minutes after waking up, almost 90% will be forgotten. This is likely to be due to the fact that our brains require more processing power when we’re awake, so it gets rid of unnecessary information.

Sleep is more important than food

Amnesty International lists sleep deprivation as a form of torture. After one week of no sleep your body will not be able to function. However, if you deprive yourself of food for a week, you will be very unwell but the damage to your body and brain will not be as significant. You can read more here.

That feeling of falling and jerking yourself awake is a called a ‘hypno jerk’

Although we don’t really know why it happens, it’s perfectly normal and perfectly helpful. It tends to be more common among those who drink coffee or carry out physical activity shortly before bedtime. It also happens less as you get older.

12% of people only dream in black and white

Before colour TV was invented, 85% of people had dreams in black and white.